Edgewater Racism

520 Words2 Pages

Many Americans take pride in their country’s values: democracy, freedom, equality, and opportunity. One of the ironies of the American vision is that within such a seemingly equal and fair country, there are still several hateful concepts, such as racism, that are deeply rooted in everyday American life. One such example of racial tensions in the United States is displayed in the homeless community of Edgewater Boulevard, San Francisco. In Righteous Dopefiend, Bourgois and Schonberg describe the atmosphere of the Edgewater community and their observations of the racial tensions that exist within it during their time spent there. Although Edgewater is only a small fraction of the United States, the behavior, actions and opinions of its residents …show more content…

This segregation, caused by the racist attitudes prevalent in the Edgewater homeless community, is a direct reflection of societal attitudes in the United States. Because racism has survived to some degree to this day, homeless whites in Edgewater cling to the notion of “white supremacy,” despite their socioeconomic status (Bourgois and Schonberg, 30). In Edgewater, homeless whites look down upon African-Americans with disdain, claiming “blacks” to be thieves and liars who can’t be trusted (Bourgois and Schonberg, 31). When African-Americans began moving into the Edgewater community during the second year of Bourgois and Schonberg’s research, racial tensions increased drastically. Initially, several white men gave up dry sleeping spots purely to increase the physical distance between the two races; however, many ultimately moved to an entirely new location, Dockside, despite it being a downgrade from Edgewater (Bourgois and Schonberg, 36). Without taking into account the economic environment of the Edgewater community, one may view actions such as giving up warmth and dryness just to get away from a group of people may seem severe. However, when examined from the perspective of the homeless inhabitants of Edgewater, it becomes apparent that in such close quarters, resources of coveted substances such as heroin are strained and racial tensions are heightened to impossible

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